Megan Quinn: Aging group discusses spiritual direction later in life

A Boulder spiritual group hopes to share sage advice about how faith and spirituality can help support and respect families and friends as they reach old age.

Once a month, the Front Range Sage-ing Chapter meets to discuss the spirituality of aging as part of the "Spiritual Eldering" movement. The Front Range Sage-ing chapter will meet 3 to 5 p.m. Sunday at the Boulder Silver Sage Community House, 1650 Yellow Pine Ave.

"It's all about people who are embracing aging as a spiritual journey and want to be conscious in the aging process," said Deborah Fink, a facilitator for the chapter. "It's really a very Boulder kind of thing."

The Front Range Sage-ing Chapter meets on the first Sunday of every month in North Boulder. It is meant to offer people a "profound new vision of growing older," Fink said.

The Spiritual Eldering idea was founded in part by Rabbi Zalman Schachter-Shalomi, better known as Reb Zalman, a Boulder-based rabbi and spiritual leader who is one of the leaders of the Jewish Renewal movement.

The ongoing group is open to the public, and participants talk about topics such as revisioning retirement, experiencing gratitude, reflecting on the changing of the seasons and journaling as a form of reflection and spiritual expression, she said.

This month's topic is "Overcoming the Seven Deadly Obstacles to Dying in Peace" and discusses ways to advocate for those who are dying.

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Schachter-Shalomi has worked to get people involved in an aging movement that gives power--both spiritual and mental-- to those who are approaching old age. Their life lessons and experiences, as well as their spiritual perspectives, is valuable to future generations and themselves, he said.

"About 30 years ago, when you talked about getting old, it was a taboo," he said in a discussion with Sage-ing members in April.

"There is the specter of being old, decrepid...you know how people say 'old fart' and stuff like that... but on the other hand, there was another name for it, that they were the elders of the community," he said.

Becoming an "elder" instead of an "old fart" means spreading wisdom gained from one's long years on earth--while also seeking new wisdom and perspective as a spiritual practice.

"Here is a person who not only was fighting against the onslaught of aging, but someone who owned it and said, 'yes, this is wonderful, this is a success that I lived this long and learned what I learned and I have to now give it back,'" he said.

Fink said the monthly Sage-ing group includes people from different backgrounds, including a special focus on the Boomer generation "and progressive thinkers of previous generations."

Boomers are reflecting on their own age while also handling the advanced age of their parents or other loved ones.

"Aging was not on the Boomer generation agenda," she wrote in an email.

Each month's discussion focuses on some element of the body, mind and spirit of someone who is aging. Those topics and exercises can include journaling, gaining perspective about life or learning to resolve old wounds or frustrations.

The group's website also collects past lectures and talks for the public to view, including discussions with one of its founders, Schachter-Shalomi, who is now 90.

Schachter-Shalomi doesn't speak much in public anymore, but when he does, it often is about spiritual eldering and the idea of becoming a sage in later life.

The community also can learn more about the man and his spiritual mark at the University of Colorado's Norlin Library, which has an ongoing exhibit about his writing, photos of his life and personal effects.

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